Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-06-15
THE BRITISH BARNARD.
Twenty Five Thousand Pretty Bumpers.
How One Became q Duchess and
Two Others Married Lords.
a Good Barmaid Who Died Young-How
tho Various Types are Regarded
by tho British Matron
Philadelphia Press,

psstty.
J She is the parish of the public house
the outCast Of respectable society, til
rejected of the philsnthropist and tn
parish visitor. There are no associa
tions for tie benefit of the barmaid
There are no Bible classes, no praye
meetings, no special services for her
Even the wicked ballet girl has her Sun
day tea poured out for her by ladyo
high degree, but not the barmaid. NJ
one cares whether she is oYerworked ant
underfed; how long she stands on mel
feet, and what sort Of food she is givel
to eat; what becomes of her when she il
i'll or loses her place.
Every woman who works for her living
from the "shop" sewer who earns her
pence day to the swell saleswoman who
! pockets her ii shillings g week, mas 8
sheer for the barmaid, and between heI
and her antipodes, the British matron,
there yawns gulf so wide that it is never
SPAWNED unless by sausage roll and a
glass of pale sherry, which the barmeid
puts on the counter with an aggravRting
slam and the matron pays N coppers for
with a cOntemptuous sniff.
THE BARMAID'S REQUISITES.
There must be q superstition to the
effect that barmaids have no souls, for no
attempt is made by any religious body to
reach or to save them. Good men or
good women scour the slums of London
to succor and reclaim the most degraded
and depraved of women-Women who
were bred, born and brought up in bad
ness-but no effort Is made to protect or
save the barmaid, who nine times out of
ten started out in life respectable girl,
and one In ten remains so in her oCcupa-
ton.
The %, 900 women employed in pouring
liquor down the huge throat of thirsty
LOadon are young and good looking. The
firsG requisite demanded of the barmaid
is that she shall be pretty, and the second
that she shall not be under Is or over 30,
though many publicans and sinners draw
the line at % years of age. Her popular
name is Polly. Polly as rule, has skin
wholesome in its pink and wilderness, and
not aTerse 10 little pimples. A thick crop
of curly hair is cut close to her head, and
Der eyes, DE they black or blue, are sure
to be fine. Polly's poorest feature is her
mouth, for it is cosrselY cut, and only the
redness of her lips ard her splendid teeth
make one forgive the glimpse of her gums
when she laughs. \ black dress, white
collar and coquettish apron give an air
of refinement and neatness not always
native.
1t is taken for granted that Polly must
be light Of foot and deft OF hand. She
must be honest in money matters and
good tempered. Above ell, she must not
be sque6mish. To the gilded youth of
Great Britain the barmaid is & special Joy
"a creation for his beneft-and he is
quick to pick out the prettiest one behind
the par. There she is chained to her
place as securely as if to log. He can
stare al her as long and as meaUingly as
he likes. He can say bad words and she
dare not resent it, because he has ordered
o brandy and soda. Then ne tells her
stale joke, OF compliments her
in the coarsest of terms,
inter!arded with frequent "my dears,"
and she has TO look and smile as if she
liked 1t, and by and by she comes
to like it, and that's where the mischief
begins. What tries Polly most, though,
is to hear two of her patrons discussing
with much JUNCTION and not little pro-
family her ''good points" exactly as if
she were horse, and deaf e. that. AS
she stands behind the long white cOun-
ter or bar of marble, with its shining
pumps, its pyramids of sweets, fruits,
cakes and sandwiches, rosy, tidy and
alert, handing over hard boiled eggs,
buns, cheese-cakes, cold sausage and
sliced ham, she is not an unpleasing pic
ture, and one always to be found at the
railway refreshment rooms and better
class of public houses, pastry cooks and
theater cafes.
WHERE THE BARNARD COMES FROM.
1t would be hateful and unjust to think
that the barmaids under the heads
enumerated were ell whited sepulchers.
MANY OF them are the daughters of small
farmers, and more of country innkeepers.
Some have come from the house of the
village schoolmaster and others from the
village parsonage good, honest girls, de-
Gently reared, and driven to this resource
to make living. The great ambition of
a respectable Oarmaid is TO get place in
one of the refreshment rooms,
hotels or restaurants managed
by q famous firm who employ
thousands of women in this capacity, and
will not take girl without some sort OF
a recommendation. Here the hours arc
long and the pay small, but the girls are
under the charge Of q maHsgeresS who
keeps an eye on them, and they sleep on
the premises. They also have their black
waiting gowns given them, and are
treated with some show of humanity; in
deed, one of the girls told me that this
firm was the only one that made it Arule
TO let q bar-msid refuse 10 serve man
who insulted her.
Even with these advantages the atmoS@'
phere of exposure, profanity and dribk
does its work in deadening the moral
senses, and where one girl in the long
run holds her own nine succumb, slowly
or swiftly, according to their individual
power to resist temptation, and drifting
away Join the terrible army that desolates
Babylon.
Another but much smaller class Of bar
maids find places in country or suburban
inns and are much better off, though they
fail TO see il in the craving for the excite
ment OF city life. In the inn the barmaid
is made one of the landlords family She
takes her meals at the same table, sits in
their pew on Sunday, and knows the reg
ulsr customers, especially the commercial
travellers, many Of whom make her pres
ents in return for little services she has
CHANGED 70 render. To be sure, she is
rsther free in her jokes, and her Partially
for the male sex is apparent: neverthe-
less, she is trusted and well treated.
1t is not au uncommon thing for bar
maid in q nosition Of This sort to end by